Phew. You’ve got it all planted, except, perhaps, the tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. Take a breather somewhere cool with the photo-crammed book, “Hellstrip Gardening” (Timber Press, 2014), by Evelyn J. Hadden, author of “Beautiful No-Mow Yards.” Hadden has the recipes for gorgeous gardens that add privacy, color, food and interest to your neighborhood, and she’ll take you on a nationwide tour of great street-side strips, including one in Boulder.

A rakish, grubby history

Who invented the rake? What’s a daisy grubber? And when did scarecrows become a garden tradition? Bring Bill Laws’ “A History of the Garden in Fifty Tools” (University of Chicago Press, 2014) along for that post-mowing-and-weeding soak, and you’ll know the answers. You’ll find out about dibbles, scythes and wellies, plus terribly useful things like what kind of sun hat keeps out the most rays and how to choose a proper soil thermometer. It’s 50 shades of delightful.

My husband and I are retired. We married 12 years ago — several years after his ex had an affair and left him. My husband has two grown sons (around 40), one of whom is married. The married son and his wife essentially ignore that I exist.